New to the Market TODAY- 5 BR, 3 Bath Home in Easton on 3 acres for $650,000

Just listed today. 125 Mile Common in the Aspetuck area of Easton. This completely remodeled home is priced to sell with 10 rooms,  5 bedrooms and 3 baths  There is a Broker's Open House tomorrow May 8 from 10 AM- 1PM and the buying public is welcome.   Hope to see you!

Click  HERE for more photos and a printable brochure

If you are interested in buying a home in Easton,  or selling your home in Easton, I invite you to contact me today.

Connecticut Financing Update and Today's Mortgage Rates May 4, 2012

Mortgage Rates Rise Modestly After Strong Manufacturing Report. Just before reaching fresh multi-month lows, Mortgages Rates rose slightly today after a stronger than expected read on the manufacturing sector.  Overall, rates continue to operate at the same "best-execution" level of 3.875% and today's deterioration would instead be seen in the form of slightly higher borrowing costs (or decreased lender credit toward closing costs, depending on your scenario).

Keep in mind that "best-execution" as we calculate it, connotes the no-closing-cost rate for the best-qualified borrowers in the most ideal scenario.  For many scenarios, 4.0% continues to constitute a good bang for the buck.  

Whatever the case, take a look at the the rate and fee structure of adjacent rates.  In other words, you may find that paying more up front for a lower rate makes more sense for you due to payment savings.  Conversely, maybe you'd rather spend less out of pocket in exchange for a slightly higher payment.  

Moving on to markets and movement now...  Yesterday we said that we'd expect the level of market activity to pick up as the week progresses, and indeed that was the case after this morning's ISM Manufacturing report came in stronger-than-expected.  Economic data has been sort of lackluster recently, and yesterday's data had markets fearing another weak report this morning.  So when it surprised to the upside, stocks rallied significantly and interest rates on fixed-income investments generally rose.  The MBS ("mortgage backed securities") that most directly influence mortgage rates are part of that fixed-income sector.  

Yesterday's stance is actually still the best way to think about the rest of the week for now, and may continue to be, barring any dramatic surprises in data or headlines.  Particularly:

Whereas we might see some small movement in either direction throughout the week, things can change abruptly on Friday with the release of The Employment Situation Report.  The fact that rates have been so low and so stable is a negative risk in our view.  Historically, there's been limited benefit in floating at current levels, and historically, "big news" that follows "flat markets" creates the potential for huge swings.  This is not at all to say that rates couldn't or wouldn't improved if the Jobs report was very weak, simply that there's no historical precedent to them improving much beyond current levels and that the Jobs report creates the potential for volatility.  

In other words, we have two ingredients.  First, there's the fact that historical examples of the Jobs report coming up on Friday have been among the biggest potential market movers on any given month.  There are plenty of times where this DOES NOT turn out to be the case, but if you lined up all the various pieces of scheduled data each month next to their corresponding market movements over time, The Employment Situation report would be at the top along with FOMC Announcements.  

Second, there's the fact that lenders' rate sheet offerings haven't been much lower than they are currently.  Now...  "much lower" is subjective, of course.  The few hundred dollars in closing cost difference could mean different things to different people.  Additionally, certain scenarios that are on "the edge" between two different interest rates (say 4.0% and 3.875%) could actually move down in rate within the confines of the "not much" generality above.  But on average, Best-Execution rates for 30yr Conventional loans have been CLOSE to edging down to 3.75, but have never done so on a widespread basis or for more than a day.  

Today's BEST-EXECUTION Rates

30-year fixed 3.875% APR-3.924% 0 points
20 year fixed-3.625% APR-3.692% 0 points
15 year fixed-3.250% APR-3.333% 0 points
10 year fixed-3.000% APR-3.123% 0 points
5/1 ARM-2.625% APR-3.091% 0 points
7/1 ARM-2.875% APR-3.127% 0 points

FHA
30 year fixed-3.750% APR-4.659% 0 points
15 year fixed-2.875% APR-3.319% 0 points

Jumbo- over $602,000 (Fairfield County)
30 year fixed-4.000% APR 4.117% 0 points
15 year fixed-3.500% APR 3.574% 0 points
5/1 ARM-3.125% APR 3.419% 0 points
7/1 ARM-3.500% APR 3.818% 0 points

Pat Leary is  a mortgage banker with over 12 years experience as a lending specialist in Connecticut. Her passion is to guide her clients through the mortgage process. Pat takes pride on providing great customer service, through communication, trust and integrity, and strives to offer the best mortgage products and service in the industry. We're confident that you will receive the personal attention that you deserve. As a leading Mortgage Banker in Connecticut, Pat  is responsible for structuring your financing with the expertise to answer any questions you may have on rates, fees and products.

Pat Leary

NMLS #99279
Atlantic Home Loans
830 Post Road East

Westport CT 06880
203-645-1037 cell
203-691-9788 ext 226
1-203-413-5647 fax

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Helpful Garage Tips for Your Auto - and Avoiding Door Dings

Even when you  park in your own garage,  your car is susceptible to getting those  dreaded dings , especially if your garage space is somewhat  tight, or if you have an SUV, or a coupe with larger passenger doors.

When you have a two car garage, you most likely have a structural lally column  which also is an annoying culprit.  Attach a remnant piece of carpet  around the first 3' or 4' feet starting at the base of the column, so if your car door happens to hit the column when you open it, the carpet acts as a buffer to the metal and   the risk of chipped paint is greatly minimized.

If the length of your garage is somewhat short for your vehicle, and you have nudged the wall more times than you would like to count, here's a great little trick:

Park your car  comfortably in the garage. Next, consider hanging a tennis ball to a strong twine  that hangs from the ceiling at the exact place where your windshield would hit the tennis ball, so that the next time you pull in, you will know exactly where to stop. (as soon as your windshield hits that tennis ball)

Tips for when you are away from home

Few things are more irritating than finding a fresh door ding, but it’s hard to avoid them. Whether you’re driving to the grocery store, work, or the doctor’s office, chances are you’re going to have to park your vehicle in a parking space, next to other vehicles.

Your best efforts to avoid door dings and scratches can be enhanced by assessing your surroundings before choosing a parking space. Consider these common sense parking tips next time you’re out and about:
·    If an end spot is available, that’s normally your best bet.
·    Consider parking as far away as possible, odds of someone cramping your car that far out is more remote.
·    Before you pull into a space look at the length of the doors on the other vehicle(s), if those doors were fully extended could they reach your vehicle?
·    Look at the height of the vehicle you are parking next to, if it is another vehicle similar in height to yours and if your car has protective rubber door moldings those moldings may protect your car’s doors, but SUV’s and truck doors are taller and may cause dents higher than your moldings can protect, move to another spot.
·    Always try to look at the car next to you and determine if there may be passengers (at work maybe not, the mall, probably) this may impact which side of the vehicle you park on. If you’re at work and figure there are no passengers, maybe parking on the passenger side of that car is good, at least you can protect one side of your car.
·    If you have to enter a parking space where another car is crowding one side of the space you’ll have to decide how best to handle that risk. Never park crooked because someone is crowding the space, if the car that’s crowding the space leaves you will now look like the one that can’t park. Always try to park straight.
·    Child seats – If you pull into a space and the car you are parking next to has child seats in it remember for a parent to properly strap their child in they normally need to fully extend their doors. This could be a good sign to find another space.
In the end, a door dent here and there may be inevitable. There are companies that perform “Paintless Dent repair.” This is the art of using special tools to push the dent out from the inside without the need for painting the dent. It’s clean and many times the repair can be performed while you wait.

Article submitted by Brennan Purdy of State Farm Insurance

My vision is to be an insurance professional whose actions are driven by keeping the customer's best interest as my primary goal. My staff will treat all my customers in a caring, friendly, and professional manner. My office will provide warm, efficient, and seamless services to our customers at all times. I expect my business to be comprised of knowledgeable, multiple-line customers who see my office as their first and best choice for all their insurance and financial service needs

For more information on these and other home safety tips, stop by my office or visit www.brennanpurdy.com. My office is conveniently located in downtown Bethel. 203-798-7300.                   211 Greenwood Avenue , Bethel, CT 06801

 And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The Offer is Low, but IT IS CASH. Should You Accept it?

Time value of money is the concept of weighing the value of money in your hand today as opposed to one day in the future. When you are selling your home, especially if it is a difficult sell, you must weigh the following hard questions and try to take your emotions out of the equation:

1. How much does it cost you to carry the property?
2. How long has it taken to obtain this offer?
3. What is the most probable likelihood that you will receive another offer in a reasonable amount of time?
4. What is the reasonable probability that you may have an unforeseen major expense before the next offer comes in?

THE ALL CASH OFFER:

Most of the time, the all cash offers are made with a lower than average list price to sale price ratio. (You can check your town stats for this percentage right here on our website), and then   refer to the four questions above.

Try to take the emotion out of it, and look at the end result. If your home has been on the market for  a significant amount of time, each day that your property remains unsold it would cost you more and more money. Let's look at an example:

Property listed at $800,000 for 10 months. Cost to carry is $4,500 per month. As of today, your home has cost you $45,000 to keep on the market during that time period.

If you get a take it or leave it cash offer tomorrow at $750,000, does it make sense to take it? I would say yes, and here's why:

The home costs $4,500 per month  without figuring anything in for maintenance or repairs.  Even if you were thinking that your bottom line was $775,000, it is important to look at the NET proceeds.

If you waited 8 months to get an offer of $750,000, it is quite reasonable that you would also wait at least an additional two months to get an offer of $775,000.  Based upon our current market conditions, waiting just two months for a higher offer is truly looking at a best case scenario. BUT, let's just say that this best case scenario was going to happen. For the two months that you wait for this offer, you have spent another $9,000 in carrying costs. Once you get the offer, the time it takes to close is anywhere between 60-90 days. If we add $13,500 to your carrying costs to wait for this closing, you have now SPENT $22,500 waiting for this transaction to close, and you are right back to what you considered to be a low offer a few months back.


What if there are a few different offers on the table with different prices and different closing dates?

Here's a simple example of what I am referring to with multiple offers at different prices:
Your home is listed for $700,000 and it costs you $3,300 per month for your mortgage, taxes and insurance.
 
Let's say that you have two offers on the table:
1) $675,000 closing in three months.
2) $670,000 closing in 30 days.

Based upon your monthly costs starting from today, waiting three months to close will cost you $9,900

Your carrying costs for one month are only $3,300, so if we were to compare actual proceeds after figuring in those carrying costs, you would net more money by selling your home at $670,000 in one month, rather than holding out an additional two months for the $675,000

Today: $670,000 - $3,300 cost to carry (1 month ) =  $666,700
Today: $675,000  - 9,900 cost to carry (3 months) =  $664,100

It will cost $6,600 to wait the three months to get an offer that will actually COST YOU $1,600 to wait for it to close.
In this instance, the lower offer is actually worth more money NET to you.


J. Wellington Wimpy certainly understood the concept.  (That's Wimpy from the Popeye cartoon). Although he could have been somewhat of a shady character at times, one thing is for sure- he knew the Time Value of Money.

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Connecticut Financing Update and Today's Mortgage Rates 4/27/12

Freddie Mac Update-

Freddie Mac approved 4,308 loan modifications in March 2012 and 13,677 for the three months ended March 31st.

The portfolio continues to contract. According to Freddie Mac's Monthly Volume Summary for March, the corporations' total mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of 2.9 percent in March compared to a decrease of 3.3 percent in February.  So far this year the portfolio has shrunk by 3.8 percent.  The volume of single-family refinance-loan purchase and guarantee volume was $34.9 billion representing 83 percent of the total mortgage portfolio.

The unpaid principal balance of the mortgage related investments portfolio at the end of the period was $618.3 billion compared to 627.3 billion at the end of February.  The portfolio is composed of $201.8 billion in PCs, REMICs, and other structured securities, down from $206.1 billion in February; $20.3 billion in Agency securities compared to $31.0 billion; $138.3 billion in non-Agency securities ($139.8 billion) and $248.0 billion in mortgage loans, down from $250.9 billion the previous month.  The total mortgage portfolio balance was 2.056 trillion compared to $2.061 trillion the month before.  The annualized growth of the total portfolio thus far in 2012 is -3.8 percent.

The measure of Freddie Mac's exposure to changes in portfolio market value (PMVS-L) averaged $233 million in March with a duration gap that averaged 0 months.

The single family seriously delinquent rate was 3.51 in March, down from 3.57 percent in February.  The rate for the non-credit enhanced portion of the portfolio was 2.90 percent and the credit enhanced rate was 8.02 percent.  Multi-family delinquencies increased from 0.21 percent to 0.23 percent.

Freddie Mac approved 4,308 loan modifications in March 2012 and 13,677 for the three months ended March 31st.

Today's Mortgage rates

30-year fixed 3.875% APR-3.924% 0 points
20 year fixed-3.625% APR-3.692% 0 points
15 year fixed-3.250% APR-3.333% 0 points
10 year fixed-3.000% APR-3.123% 0 points

5/1 ARM-2.625% APR-3.091% 0 points

7/1 ARM-2.875% APR-3.127% 0 points

FHA

30 year fixed-3.750% APR-4.659% 0 points
15 year fixed-2.875% APR-3.319% 0 points

Jumbo- over $602,000 (Fairfield County)
30 year fixed-4.000% APR 4.117% 0 points
15 year fixed-3.500% APR 3.574% 0 points
5/1 ARM-3.125% APR 3.419% 0 points
7/1 ARM-3.500% APR 3.818% 0 points

Pat Leary is  a mortgage banker with over 12 years experience as a lending specialist in Connecticut. Her passion is to guide her clients through the mortgage process. Pat takes pride on providing great customer service, through communication, trust and integrity, and strives to offer the best mortgage products and service in the industry. We're confident that you will receive the personal attention that you deserve. As a leading Mortgage Banker in Connecticut, Pat  is responsible for structuring your financing with the expertise to answer any questions you may have on rates, fees and products.

Pat Leary

NMLS #99279
Atlantic Home Loans
830 Post Road East

Westport CT 06880
203-645-1037 cell
203-691-9788 ext 226
1-203-413-5647 fax

And a note From Judy: If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of an Realtor to represent you, I invite you to contact me, and if you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see on The CT Realty Blog, please include it in the "Post a Comment" section link below this post. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with the best real estate content, advice and service in Fairfield County, Connecticut.